Corner post and edge protector structures are of course well-known in the packaging and shipping industries, and accordingly, such structures are widely used in connection with the shipping or storage of various packages, articles, products, or palletized loads thereof, in order to not only protect the same during transit, wherein it is particularly desirable to protect the corner or edge portions or regions thereof, but in addition, to provide columnar compressive strength characteristics in order to permit such packages, articles, products, and palletized loads thereof to be vertically stacked within cargo holds or storage facilities without undergoing or experiencing compressive strength failures.
The prior art is of course replete with various different types of corner post and edge protector structures, and examples of such prior art structures are disclosed within U.S. Pat. No. 4,938,357 which issued to Schmidt on Jul. 3, 1990, U.S. Pat. No. 4,483,444 which issued to Gardner on Nov. 20, 1984, U.S. Pat. No. 4,202,449 which issued to Bendt on May 13, 1980, U.S. Pat. No. 4,120,441 which issued to Hurley on Oct. 17, 1978, U.S. Pat. No. 3,315,867 which issued to Seltman on Apr. 25, 1967, U.S. Pat. No. 1,865,485 which issued to Sas on Jul. 4, 1932, and U.S. Design Pat. No. D-351,988 which issued to Gotcher on Nov. 1, 1994. While all of the structures disclosed within the aforenoted prior art patents admittedly provide the requisite corner or edge protection, or corner post support, it appears that the device of Bendt, which is constructed and disclosed as an edge protector, and not as a corner post structure for providing columnar stacking strength or support, is most similar, from a structural point of view, to the corner post/edge protector of the present invention, although as will be readily apparent from the disclosure presented hereinafter, important structural, and therefore operationally functional, differences exist between the corner post/edge protector of the present invention and the edge protector device of Bendt.
Referring to FIG. 1 of the present patent application drawings, which corresponds substantially to FIG. 1 of the Bendt patent, it is seen that the edge protector device of Bendt comprises a plastic extrusion which comprises a cylindrical vertex portion 1 defined about an axis 2 and having an arcuate extent which extends approximately three-quarters of a circle or 270 degrees. The ends of vertex portion 1, which are in effect disposed at 0 degree and 270 degree positions as would be considered with respect to a 360 degree plot, terminate at integrally formed side members 3 and 4 which are disposed substantially perpendicular to each other, and the free or distal ends of the sides 3 and 4 terminate in outwardly turned end portions 5 and 6. When the edge protector is secured upon or around an object, article, or package by means of rope or lashing 8, the side members 3 and 4 are disposed in surface contact with the side surfaces 7,7 of the object, article, or package.
It is noted, however, that the device of Bendt comprises an edge protector structure for packages, articles, or objects, and is not constructed as a corner post structure which must necessarily provide or exhibit substantial compression or columnar strength characteristics in order to withstand multi-tiered vertical stacking of articles, objects, packages, and palletized loads. In addition, due to offset of each one of the sides 3 and 4 of the edge protector of Bendt with respect to the vertex portion 1 thereof, as defined, for example, between the outer surface 3a of, for example, the side or leg member 3 and the outer surface portion 1a of the vertex region 1, taken within a plane disposed parallel to the outer surface 3a, and as illustrated in FIG. 1 by means of the double-arrowheads and the distance or space labelled OFFSET, adjacent packages, articles, or palletized loads are not capable of being closely spaced with respect to each other. Accordingly, transportation cargo hold or storage facility space is not able to be used in a cost-effective manner.
A need therefore exists in the art for a corner post structure, which may also serve as an edge or corner protector for corner or edge regions of articles, objects, packages, or palletized loads, wherein such structure exhibits enhanced columnar stacking strength characteristics while permitting relatively close spacing between adjacent side portions of the various packages, objects, articles, or palletized loads with which the corner post structure is operatively associated. In addition, the corner post structure should also exhibit a requisite amount of lateral stability, and in addition, provide positive or desirable stress distribution characteristics with respect to the stresses or forces normally impressed by means of the packaging strapping or lashing upon the packages, articles, objects, or palletized loads.